stepson is a marine. and he's overinafghanistan, sowe're just waiting for him to get home. >> floats and vehicles of all kinds. >> i'm driving around on the fourth of july in the middle of dc. life couldn't be better. >> many options to cool off. including some unusual ice cream from dallas. >> a chilly flavored ice cream bar. oh my gosh. after the parade, people headed over to the smithsonian folk festival where columbia was showcased. the music was hot, the food was spicey. and throughout the celebration, folks did not forget the true meaning of a fourth of july. >> freedom. as simple as that. >> and those rain drops that we told you about have diminished somewhat, but there are folks out here with umbrellas. but again, we're about two hours away from the fireworks. so we could still have a rain- free fourth of july. we'll have to keep our fingers crossed. reporting live, i'm armando trull, back to you. > thanks very much. have some fun out there. this july 4, more than 24,000 people became u.s. citizens in 3 r50 ceremonies. that includes 100 people in mt. vernon from afghanist

to be questioned by parliament tomorrow. >>> ineasternafghanistan, natoofficials say a bomb killed three service members. meantime in kabul today, general david petraeus turned over his command of american and coalition forces in afghanistan to general john allen. petraeus will now lead the cia. >>> and nelson mandela is 93 years old today. this morning millions of schoolchildren around the country sang a special happy birthday song for the icon. it's celebrated as an international day devoted to public service. he's spending the >>> this morning casey anthony is out of jail and out of the public eye. her lawyer says she's trying to put all the pieces of her life back together. we just don't know where. as cbs' karen brown reports. >> reporter: casey anthony hasn't been spotted since this photo p of her was snapped early sunday. anthony's civil attorney, charles greene, says his client is an emotional mess. >> i think miss anthony right now is happy. she's sad. she's anxious. she's optimistic. she's worried. she's scared. she's uncertain. >> reporter: greene met with anthony several times leadin

today handed over command of u.s. and nato led troopsinafghanistan. nowoversea the process of transferring security to afghan forces. general patraeus takes over as cia director. during his year in afghanistan, he oversaw the arrival of 30,000 additional troops to stop the momentum of the growing insurgency there. anita and anny. >> we are out here on the terrace and we're not the only ones in the soup. it's across the whole country. >> yeah, in the midwest, temperatures are in the upper 90s. and it's going to be some really intense, dangerous heat coming this way as we are trying to warn everyone. here's a look at those conditions. look out to the far west, des moines, st. louis, heat advisories and warnings in effect because of the intense. when you factor in the humidity, heat index levels well over 100 degrees. so we're going to get some of that in the next couple of days. we also have to deal with storms later tonight and tomorrow. right now in our area, temperatures in the 90s. around downtown, 91 degrees. in gaithersburg, 90. when you factor in the humidity, it feel

including a year-long deploymenttoafghanistanwhereshe was the first woman in the corps to command units in a war zone. >> they didn't pick me up as come here, you're the tallest female we've got. you need to be in charge of the battle zone. it was because that was what my job required as the co of the camp. >> while it prides itself on not seeing race or gender, this accomplishment is garnering the new commanding officer lots of attention. >> i got cards and letters from around the country. congratulating me. is there a possibility to not let those people down? yeah, there is. >> reporter: still, brigadier reynolds has a bigger responsibility, continuing the mission of making marines. >> the bottom line is we're going to have to put out about 20,000 new recruits here every year. that's my priority is in an era of shrinking budgets, how do i maintain a quality and not wear them out. >> on paris island south carolina, evan johnson, wtlc news. >> good morning. thank you for watching 9news now at 5:00 a.m. i think if anybody is up to the task, she is. >> here's angie goff. anny hong starts

? >> chris, good morning to you. in our news, four nato service members were killedinafghanistanthismorning. three died during a roadside bombing in eastern afghanistan, the fourth during a separate insurgent attack. 280 international troops have been killed in afghanistan this year. >>> in kabul, british prime minister david cameron met with afghan president hamid karzai, and with general david petraeus. a u.s. and nato commander and unannounced trip there. petraeus is leaving afghanistan and the army next month to become director of the cia. >>> the senate gets back to work today on talks to raise the debt limit. less than four weeks now before the u.s. potentially defaults on its debts. earlier, chris asked republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin if the two sides can agree this week on the issue of whether taxes should be raised? >> i should think so. i think there's a growing group of i think senate republicans and house republicans that are willing to increase the debt ceiling, as long as we actually fix the problem. >>> and delaware senator chris coons told chris he a

troops in places likekuwait,afghanistan, andiraq. >> people don't have high expectations for an actor with a band, let's face. i like to surprise them. >> his foundation is helping raise money to build homes for wounded veterans. the job training and other needs. for 18 months, the camera crew followed his band. the result, a movie, lieutenant dan band for the common good. available on the internet. one out of every $4 will go to his charitable foundation. >> it's a good first-hand look at the kind of people we have serving in our military. why they do it, how dedicated they are. what they're going through, you know, what the people that support them are going through. what their families are going through. >> he's not doing this for money or a photo op. he has been moved by the stories of the men and women in uniform and he doesn't want them to be forgotten. lisa silvester, cnn, washington. >>> and that movie can be seen at ltdanbandmovie.com. thanks for joining us for 9news now at 5:00. 9news now at 6:00 starts right now. >> this is 9news now. >> as to the charge of first- degr

inafghanistanfora missing british soldier. officials say he disappeared in the southern part of the country. the taliban claims they captured and executed an american soldier yesterday, but that has not been verified. >>> new clashes in syria this morning, soldiers and tanks have moved into towns near the border with turkey and stormed houses in hama, it happened as thousands took part in pro-knockcy demonstrations. six people were wounded in the latest maneuver. >>> prosecutors are not dropping the sexual assault case against dominique strauss-kahn. he and his wife were mobbed as they left their apartment friday. prosecutors said their accuser has a history of lying. >>> a poll conducted for this july 4th holiday shows a surprising number of americans know very little about it. 58% knew america declared independence in 1776. 26% were unsure. 16% guessed another year. 76% correctly said we declared independence from britain but 19% were unsure and 5% said another country. very sad stuff. marysol castro is here with our first check of the weather. come on america, get your act together. >> i